Alison Davis-Blake, the newly named dean of the Ross School of Business and the current dean of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, is expected to be officially appointed to her new post by the University’s Board of Regents at its monthly meeting on Thursday, which will be held in Detroit.
If approved, Davis-Blake’s position as dean will begin on Aug. 22. University officials announced last month that Davis-Blake will succeed current Business School Dean Bob Dolan. Dolan, who has been dean of the school since 2001, decided in March 2010 not to pursue a third term, which is five years in length. Eugene Anderson, the senior associate dean for academic affairs at the Business School, will serve as interim dean until Davis-Blake takes her post pending the regents’ approval on Thursday.
Davis-Blake, who will also be appointed as a tenured professor of management and organizations in the Business School, said in an interview last month that she is thrilled to be coming to Ann Arbor.
“The three things I’m most excited about are the amazing faculty, the world-class programs and, of course, the (University) itself — a great University with so many great programs,” she said.
Regents to consider renovations to University Hospital
The University Hospital will likely get the green light to proceed with a $6 million renovation and expansion to its Medical Procedure Unit.
The construction plan includes a 4,000-square-foot expansion to the unit and a 2,200-square-foot renovation of a nearby storage space, according to a communication to the regents by Ora Pescovitz, the University’s executive vice president for medical affairs, and Timothy Slottow, the University’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.
The renovation and expansion will add new preparatory and recovery bays, something the hospital is currently lacking, Pescovitz and Slottow wrote in the communication.
“The medical procedure unit (MPU) at University Hospital has a ratio of 2.3 prep/recovery bays per procedure room, well below the industry standard of four to one, hindering patient throughput,” Pescovitz and Slottow wrote.
The project will also create procedure rooms and storage space, in addition to upgrading and renovating the waiting room. The project, which will take place in several phases, is scheduled to be finished in spring 2012.
Regents to approve sale of commercial paper
The regents are also expected to approve the sale of up to $200 million in commercial paper to replace the current commercial paper program that is expiring.
Commercial paper are short-term debts the University sells to investors in order to finance construction projects. The University is obligated to pay back the debt in at least 270 days.
According to a communication to the regents written by Slottow, the previous series of commercial paper issuances expired in November 2009.
“The existing commercial paper program needs to be replaced by a new program to allow short-term funding of capital projects financed by tax-exempt debt and refunding of outstanding debt,” Slottow wrote.
The funds generated from selling the commercial paper could be used to fund several construction projects around campus, Slottow wrote. These projects include renovations to Alice Lloyd Residence Hall, Crisler Arena and the C.S. Mott Children’s and Von Not Voil Voigtlander Women’s Hospitals.